Teenage Nigerian midfielder Mubarak Suleiman enjoyed a dream debut for Slavia Prague on Saturday, netting his first senior goal just eight minutes after coming off the bench.

The Right2Win Academy graduate earned promotion to the first team following a string of impressive performances for Slavia’s youth sides, having scored in each of his last three UEFA Youth League games, including braces against Benfica and Athletic Bilbao, as well as a strike against Arsenal.

Slavia Prague are currently grappling with an injury crisis, with several key players, including Nigerian duo Igoh Ogbu and David Moses, ruled out for the visit of FK Mladá Boleslav.

Suleiman, 18, entered the match in the 84th minute and rounded off the scoring in the third minute of stoppage time, calmly finishing a counterattack following a pass from Muhammed Cham.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Slavia Prague manager Jindřich Trpišovský highlighted the potential he sees in Suleiman and the reasoning behind his inclusion in the first team for the Chance Liga clash with FK Mlada Boleslav.

"In the eight years I’ve been here, I’ve spoken about many players having potential. Sometimes it comes true, sometimes not. It depends on many aspects. I wouldn’t like to put a ceiling on him,” Trpišovský said. 

"We expect a lot from him. He has something that we lack here. He trained with us before, then we waited for a visa, and he played for the B-team. Now he has performed well. Two weeks ago, we played a system match with the B-team, and he was the best on the pitch from the B-team."

The coach praised Suleiman's technical and tactical qualities, noting his versatility and intelligence in the final third. 

"He has good movement and solves situations in the last third of the pitch very well. He also showed this in the matches with Benfica, when he was looking for a teammate from the last touch. He is a player who can handle the under-forward position, but also the midfielder position."

Trpišovský added that injuries to key players created an opportunity for Suleiman to make his senior debut. 

"Moses is injured for a long time, Bužek too, which is why he started today. He is a complex player with full-area movement, and I think he will score points."

Suleiman joined Slavia Prague in September 2025 following a successful trial.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel